"No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees."
Hebrews 12:11-12
Sound Familiar? “I don’t have time.” “I don’t have the energy.” I’ve heard these words from a lot of men as reasons why they aren’t being the men they should be. Maybe like me, you’ve said them yourself at one point or another. What would you say if I gave you a solution for both? Asking "Why" I had a discussion with a cardiologist friend of mine recently. We were discussing the recent weight loss medicine craze and all the patients coming in for weight loss medicine. He recently starting asking patients, “Why are you wanting to lose weight?” He gets all sorts of answers but his reply is always, “If your goal is to be healthier and live longer, then you need to be doing cardio.” Then the moans and excuses as to why that’s not possible start rolling in: “I don’t have time, I have bad knees/back, I hate cardio, etc.” It’s really easy to come up with excuses and with today’s modern medicine, there’s a medicine for almost everything. The Facts However, recent studies show that 150 minutes of cardio a week accomplishes 2 major goals. It can reduce your risk of a cardiovascular event (heart attack, stroke, etc) but up to 40% and can add up to 10 years to your life. As a doctor with over 15 years of experience, I can tell you there’s no pill that can match that. Pretty amazing that our God-given ability to exercise can provide more benefit than anything that man can come up with. Are you surprised? Me neither. Let's Break it Down Now let me define cardio. Getting your heart rate elevated for a prolonged period. That’s it. It’s nothing fancy. It can literally be anything as long as it gets your heart rate elevated for a prolonged period of time. You need to be hot, sweaty, and a little short of breath when you’re done. My Advice to Patients Find something you enjoy and stick with it. If you hate running, then starting a couch to 5K plan doesn’t make sense. My wife hates running, but loves Jazzercise. She’s consistent because she enjoys it. So hike, swim, power walk, ride a bike, box, do jujitsu, or anything you can think of to get your heart rate pumping. The 150 minutes has to be at least 3 different episodes and each episode needs to be at least 10-15 minutes. Just Do It! So, get out there and start some cardio. The rewards will be immense, but most importantly you will gain energy and time. These are 2 major ingredients in the recipe of being the man God called you to be. All you have to do now is figure out what you’re going to do with all that energy and time you’ve created to further God’s Kingdom.
Thad Hardin, MD MD5 Facilitator
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